Three-quarters of U.S. marketers had their budgets cut this year, and two-thirds were expected to drive more sales with an equal or lesser budget, according to the Association of National Advertisers and Marketing Management Analytics.
eMarketer reports that the number one strategy for marketers who wanted to improve effectiveness without spending more, according to the June 2009 poll, was shifting from traditional to digital media.
More than one-half of respondents also reported shifting spending away from brand-building initiatives, and 38 percent were putting more spending into lower-cost media.
The marketer exodus from traditional leap-of-faith brand-related advertising is clearly related to the accelerated move toward more measurable digital marketing practices.
That said, almost four in ten respondents reported that their senior management considered marketing an expense, but more still saw marketing costs as investments in their brand.
The need for marketing accountability is driving many efforts among the marketers surveyed, including an increase in the use of sophisticated analytics and predictive modeling.
Fewer marketers reported this year that it was challenging to train staff to deal with the data compared with last year. But they were much more likely to find it difficult to manage all the disparate tools and output generated by their marketing analysis.
Although many respondents expect their budget for 2010 to increase (36 percent), most believe that accountability efforts are here to stay.